Lisa Wallner SamstagPh.D., Clinical Psychology
City University of New York, 1998

Lisa Wallner Samstag, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program at Long Island University. Dr. Samstag completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the graduate school counseling center of the City University of New York (1998-1999), and was the former Coordinator of the Beth Israel Medical Center Psychotherapy Research Program (1990-2007). Currently, she is Associate Editor/Book Review Editor of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (2004-present) and a candidate in psychoanalysis at The William Alanson White Institute (2003-present). Dr. Samstag is author and co-author of numerous psychotherapy research studies and papers, with a particular focus on the development of the therapeutic relationship and treatment failures. Dr. Samstag teaches courses in psychotherapy research, research design, and developmental psychology.

LIU Psychotherapy Research Program
Beginning in the second year of training, students work with clients in the LIU Counseling Center where a number of different process and outcome measures are utilized to evaluate aspects of treatment. I have a particular interest in the development of the therapeutic relationship in long-term treatment (e.g., transference, counter-transference, working alliance and alliance ruptures), and the Counseling Center data is used in different research projects to study these components of psychotherapy process.

LIU Multicultural Assessment Project (MAP)
We are currently conducting research on acculturation to American life across a spectrum of different ethnicities. Phase I of this project is the development of a multicultural assessment tool, combining items from previously normed instruments. Phase II involves establishing the psychometric properties of the new measure, particularly with a clinical population.